Will the Echidna saga  Book One: The Beginnings
by StreetFlare
Summary: My first ever fanfiction. Well, ok, the first ever fanfiction I typed and completed. Most just...stagnated. This was finished in 2009, and is the first in what has turned out to be a mammoth project for someone in high school, but ain't the best ever.
1. Chapter 1

Well, it's like this - this story was actually written 2009, the first foray into fanfiction I made. Since then, I've written three books in this series, plus have ideas for other series in other franchises. I love to get reviews on my work, as long as it isn't trolling, so please, feel free.**  
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><p><strong>Book One – The Beginnings <strong>

**Chapter One: Beginning of a Legend**

Knuckles was depressed. Protecting the Master Emerald was boring now that Rouge was on her honeymoon with Shadow. So much had changed in the last four years. Sonic and Amy tied the knot, followed by Shadow and Rouge. Sonic and Amy had had their first kids, Sonia and Manic, two years ago, around the same time he had become a father to Lara-Su. Tails and Cream had been dating, and there were rumors everywhere. Eggman had been quiet lately, having been left to plot and rebuild after the triple hedgehog blast from Sonic, Shadow and that weird white hedgehog Silver. All was quiet, and that was what was bugging him.

"It's all so boring!" Knuckles whined. Julie-Su winced. She hated hearing Knuckles like that, but there was nothing she could do. Some days, he was bored. Others, he was remembering his time as Enerjak and depressed over that. It was a rare day that he was happy. She had told him that they were having a second child, and Knuckles had became more worried. At that moment, little two-year-old Lara-Su walked in. She saw her dad was upset and ran over, wrapping her little pink arms as far around him as they could go.

"Honey. I'm sorry. I can't help but be sad these days. Nothing too major to do. Eggman has been too quiet; Rouge hasn't been trying to steal the Master Emerald and I can't do anything big. I feel like a nobody," Knuckles said to his daughter. She looked him in the eyes and said

"Daddy, I love you, no matter what. You aren't a nobody, you're my dad. Remember that." Knuckles looked down at her. The sad look in his eyes disappeared.

"Yeah, I am. Come on, let your old man teach you a few tricks." He smiled, making Julie-Su wrap the two of them in a big bear hug.

"Why don't the three of us go out to see Sonic and his family? You can play with the twins, while Daddy and Sonic can exchange stories, and Mummy and Amy can chat about things."

"Sounds like a good idea. Go get ready. I'll go get a Warp Ring." Knuckles replied.

"Yippee! I love playing with Sonia and Manic!" Lara-Su sung. Pretty quickly, Lara-Su had all her toys and was ready to go.

"I don't think so honey. You're going to have to leave some of this stuff behind." Julie-Su said forcefully. Lara-Su thought for a second, then took out three dolls.

"A little more than that, honey." Knuckles said gently. Lara-Su took out the dollhouse and the toy computer.

"That's enough," she said, challenging her father to a battle of wits when suddenly Julie-Su screamed.

"The egg! I just checked on the egg through the computer. It's HATCHING!" Instantly, Knuckles and Julie-Su took off, leaving Lara-Su tottering after them. As short a time it took them to race to the egg's room, the egg had completely hatched and there sat a little echidna, rolling around and babbling. Knuckles picked up his son.

"Will. His name will be Will." He said quietly yet forcefully. The baby was delighted at the name, making little claps and happy sounds. The baby was mostly sky blue, with black streaks throughout his dreadlocks. His eyes were unusual as well, with a distinct ring of brown surrounded by another ring of green.

"I'll go call Sonic and Amy. Invite them round to meet Will." Julie-Su told Knuckles. He nodded. "That would be good. I'll stay here and keep an eye on this little bundle of bounciness." At that, Will sat up and started bouncing on his butt, looking as cute as possible. Knuckles grinned at that, picking up Will and stroking his head. Will burbled and fell asleep. Knuckles lay Will down then sat at the window. Suddenly, he saw two streaks of color racing along, a blue streak and a green one. Sonic and Manic. Sonic pulled to a beautiful stop. Manic kept running.

"Hey, Manic. STOP!" Sonic bellowed

"I CAN'T!" Manic screamed back. Sonic raced up to his kid, flicking him up into the air.

"All yours Knucks!" he shouted. Instantly, Knuckles jumped out of the window and caught the falling hedgehog.

"I got you Manic," He said reassuringly

"Thanks, Mr. Knuckles," came the sheepish reply. Knuckles glided down to the ground, setting the little hedgehog down.

"Sonic, you need to teach your kid how to stop. Come inside. There's someone I think you'll want to meet." As the two old friends walked inside, Amy and Sonia arrived. Julie-Su greeted them.

"Hello Amy. How are you?

"Fine. We came as soon as we heard. Can we go see the little fellow?"

"Of course. Let's go."

Everyone met up in the baby's room. Will looked around, confused at all the people, before falling back on his side. He started rolling and babbling again, doing cute baby things as expected.

"Awwwww, isn't he cute! Hello, bubba. Aren't you just adorable? I could eat you up!" Amy said, in baby talk. She was expecting a new baby soon, so seeing her friend's new baby made her feel excited again. Will looked up with his deep ringed eyes and gave a little smile.

"You're lucky, Lara-Su. You gots a cute little brother. All I gots is a big brother, and he's a little weird."

"Hey! I'm not weird! At least I don't still use baby talk like you, Sonia!"

"You do, Maniac."

"Do not!"

"Do to!" Before the two little hedgehogs could start fighting, Sonic walked over and stuck a hand on each of their heads.

"You two stop fighting. Soon, both of you are gonna be a big brother and sister to a new baby. You guys need to set an example for the baby.

You know," he said, turning to Lara-Su, "You are lucky. Your little bro looks like he's gonna be a little charm to be around."

"Yeah, Mr. Sonic. A real charm," she replied half-heartedly. "You guys wanna go play?"

"Yeah, ok Lara. Come on Maniac."

"MY NAME IS MANIC!" He said, proving he could get annoyed easily, before leaving behind the girls. Six months passed, and Will grew older. Rouge and Shadow returned from their honeymoon. Soon, Julie-Su took Lara-Su and Sonia on a girl's trip as Amy was in hospital having her baby. Knuckles and Sonic were left with Manic and Will. Manic contented himself with running on the walls of the Master Emerald room, jumping over the door every time he reached it. Will, on the other hand, wasn't as hyperactive. He would walk around, tripping over his own feet a fair bit.

"Dada, me hungy." He burbled when Knuckles walked past. Both Sonic and Knuckles stopped when they heard Will start to talk.

"What was that, Will?" Knuckles asked, shocked.

"Dada, me hungy. HUNGY!" he squealed. Astonished, Knuckles ran to get Will some food. Will had proved that he could eat solid food, so Knuckles had been giving him sandwich quarters with ham. Will loved it. Knuckles carried Will in to the Master Emerald room, where Manic was still on the walls. Knuckles turned to Sonic.

"Did you really have to give Manic that red cordial?" he asked.

"Yeah. He asked for it. I forgot it makes him like this." Sonic replied. Then, something shocking happened. Will had been watching Manic like a hawk since he finished his lunch and he wondered what would happen if he grabbed Manic. He pulled himself up onto his small wobbly legs and jumped. Knuckles and Sonic both watched amazed as Will wrapped his hands around Manic, pulling him to the ground. Before Manic could start yelling, the phone rang. Knuckles grabbed it.

"Hello? Yeah, this is Knuckles. She has? That's great. Thanks for that. Sonic and I will be there in a sec. See ya then. Bye." He hung up.

"That was Rouge. Amy's had her baby," He had to stop there, as Sonic let out an amazing cheer. "Looks like we're going to the hospital, champ." He said to Will. Will poked his tongue out. As soon as they arrived, they found Shadow asleep outside the room.

"Hey Shadow. How's it going?" Knuckles asked. Shadow snored.

"Uhhh, Shadow?" Sonic asked.

"Ha, HA! Take that, Eggman!" Shadow muttered

"At least he fights Eggman in some way." Knuckles grumped.

"Shadow. Shadow. HEY, SHADOW! WAKE UP!" Sonic shouted. Shadow woke with such a start that he flew up and his spines stuck to the roof.

"Why'd you do that? I was happily asleep!" he groaned, before falling off the roof on his face.

"Let's go meet my daughter." Sonic replied. The boys walked in, with Will's head poking over Knuckles' shoulder where he was in his carry pack. The girls were all fawning over a little purple baby with green eyes. Sonic's eyes were glowing when he set eyes on his daughter Maddy. Will looked shocked. The baby babbled, then cried. Sonic and Amy tried to calm her down, but she wouldn't stop crying. Suddenly, Will slid out of his pack and somehow climbed on top of Knuckle's head. Maddy stopped crying and giggled.

"Baby happy?" Will asked Knuckles

"Baby very happy now. What did you do?"

"Me dunno," He burbled.

"Looks like the two of them are going to be good friends," Amy said, sharing a look with Julie-Su and Rouge.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: Chaos out-of Control**

Years passed, and Will grew into a powerful young echidna. Knuckles and Espio taught him a lot of forms of combat, while Antoine D'Coolette taught him swordsmanship and Sonic taught him to play guitar, all of which he took in his stride. Maddy had grown into a strong young hedgehog too, and one of Will's only friends. At the age of 8, the two of them met Kyle, Tails and Cream's 5-year-old kid. It turned out that while on their travels, Cream became pregnant and had Kyle. He was a genius, and was put into grade 2 halfway through his first year at school. He spoke five different languages and had written a novel with his dad.

"So, you're in our class and you're three years younger than us. What I want to know, is how you got into this class"

"Well, I guess I'm too smart to be any lower. They put me in here because of you two," was Kyle's response. Maddy and Will exchanged a look then decided to take Kyle under their wing. It was like that for two years as they all grew up as good friends. Soon after Maddy's 9th birthday, Will and Maddy went to see Shadow while Rouge was in hospital having twins, two new kids for Shadow and herself, and sisters for their five-year-old son Shade.

"You know, you two are the first kids I've liked, aside from Shade, of course. I want you to have these. I got tonnes anyway," Shadow said, producing necklaces with Chaos Emerald shards hanging around them. "Don't tell your folks bout these, will you?" Will and Maddy both nodded. That night, they walked home together.

"Shadow was a little weird about giving us these necklaces, wasn't he?" Maddy pointed out. Will nodded.

"I wonder what these necklaces are supposed to do. Hey Maddy, hold my hand for a sec," Will said. As they walked down the road, they suddenly disappeared.

That night, Knuckles was staring out the window again, but for a different reason. Will hadn't returned home. Suddenly, the phone rang. It was Sonic.

"Hey, Knuckles, are Will and Maddy around there? Shadow said that they left an hour ago. Will was supposed to walk Maddy home and they never made it."

"They never came here. Rally some people. We have to find them!"

"Right." Sonic abruptly hung up. Knuckles walked down the hall, and woke Julie-Su.

"Honey, Will and Maddy never made it to Sonic's place. We have to go look for them." Julie-Su sat bolt upright, fear filtering in on her face.

"I'll wake Lara-Su. You know what she's like. You go get ready." Knuckles waited for Julie-Su to leave before bolting down the hall to the Master Emerald. Grabbing a Warp Ring, he then bolted down to where Julie-Su and the very tired-looking Lara-Su were standing. He activated the Warp Ring, sending all three of them to where Sonic had assembled a motley band. There was Amy, Sonia, Manic, Tails, Shadow, Kyle, Espio, Charmy and a couple of others.

"Ok guys, lets get looking." Sonic said. Espio instantly disappeared while Charmy and Kyle took off. Amy, Sonia, Manic, Lara-Su and Julie-Su ran away and Shadow walked off, a little disjointed. Knuckles turned to Tails.

"Hey Tails, when you heard that Maddy and Will disappeared, why didn't you bring Cream?" he asked. Tails blushed.

"Well, Cream and I have a new baby in the house. Her name's Cookies. Cream's staying home to look after her. Born this morning."

"That's great news man!"

"Way to go!" Both Sonic and Knuckles congratulated Tails on this news.

"Now lets go find our kids, Sonic!" Knuckles pointed out. All three of them headed off in one big group. As they walked past the main street out to the forest, Vector came walking up with a pair of wriggling things, one in his hand and the other in his mouth.

"Are these yours?" he asked, dropping the little hedgehog out of his hands onto the floor. Maddy got up. She had food all over her body, and was bruised and cut in a number of places. Vector than spat out a little blue echidna that looked up out of his right eye.

"Hiya, dad." He muttered. Knuckles instantly noticed a deep cut across his son's left eye.

"Sorry bout the cut, but they appeared in my dinner. I couldn't manage to grab them both in my hands, so I grabbed Will in my mouth. He must've cut his eye on one of my teeth." Vector said apologetically. Shadow was then seen walking past, looking everywhere but at Sonic and Knuckles.

"You say they appeared?" Sonic asked.

"Yep. Like they teleported there." Vector replied.

"Teleported? Like they Chaos Controlled there? Now I understand. SHADOW!" Knuckles bellowed. Shadow took off running. Sonic immediately took off after him while Tails set off to gather everyone at Knuckles' place and Knuckles carried Maddy and Will back to his house. Soon after they arrived, Tails and the others got there.

"Where's Sonic and Shadow?" he asked.

"Right here," came Sonic's voice from the doorway behind Tails, dragging Shadow.

"Ok, Shadow. 'Fess up. Why did you teach the kids how to Chaos Control."

"I didn't teach them anything! They must have figured it themselves!" Shadow blustered. Knuckles cracked his knuckles. "Shadow, the more you lie, the more I hurt you. Understood?" Shadow only nodded. "Now, Shadow, Did you teach the kids Chaos Control?"

"He didn't teach us anything. We did it ourselves." Maddy butted it.

"I don't believe you." Knuckles snorted.

"Actually Dad," Will said from where he was, with bandages wrapped around his head, "We did. Shadow gave us these," he said, producing his Chaos Emerald shard. Maddy did the same thing. "All I know is that we held hands while walking down the street and the next second we were in a massive plate of food with a crocodile about to chow down on us. Luckily, he saw us. Otherwise, it would have been a lot worse." Sonic took the shards over to Knuckles.

"Chaos Emerald shards. Weak, but when there are three together, they can trigger uncontrollable Chaos Controls, and four can trigger controlled Chaos Controls." Knuckles said.

"Will, where's the third shard?" Julie-Su asked. Knuckles looked uncomfortable.

"Honey, Will is like me. He has Chaos powers in his body, like I do. I normally don't use them unless I'm in my Super, Hyper or Chaos form, yet Will, as a kid, must have power equal to a Chaos Emerald shard. He was the third shard." Sonic, Tails, Julie-Su and Amy all looked at Shadow.

"What! I didn't know about Will! I have hundreds of shards from other worlds and other Zones. I was going to give one to my son Shade and another one to Kyle. Then, when they're older, they could meet up with Maddy and Will and Chaos Control."

"Shadow, I'm going to take all the shards I find." Knuckles warned.

"Amy, I think Maddy should stay here tonight as the doctor's coming here tomorrow and he'd probably want to make sure she's ok." Julie-Su told Amy. Amy nodded agreement. That night, with Maddy lying in a bed across from him, Will was thinking.

"Hey Will," Maddy's voice awoke him from his light thoughts, "Do you think Shadow really wanted that to happen?"

"I dunno. Why would he want us to disappear though?" Will pointed out.

"I'm not sure. I think it has something to do with us. Something to do with you and me." Will nodded. "I guess, Shadow knows the future, and he's trying to do something about it," Maddy said. Will grunted.

"Knows the future, my foot. I don't know what his idea was, but I don't think it has to do with our future." At that, he got up, gave Maddy a hug and then walked back over to his bed and fell asleep, leaving Maddy wondering both why he hugged her and Shadow's motives. Eventually, she gave up on thinking about Shadow and fell asleep thinking about Will.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: Dawn of a New Era**

Over five years, Will matured more. He still had very few friends, and often got into fights. However, Kyle and Maddy could quite often stop his angry rampages. The times that Will appeared too enraged for anyone to approach, Maddy was the only person he let near him, to calm him. Kyle often noted that Maddy and Will would often hold hands when they thought nobody was looking. One day, after a hard half-hour with Antoine and his dad training, Will tapped his dad on his shoulder.

"Hey Dad, can I ask you something?" he asked. Knuckles smiled. He had a feeling on what was coming. "Sure Will. What is it?"

"Well," Will began, "I feel weird when I'm around Maddy. Part of my mind sees her as my best friend in the world, whereas other parts are saying thing about me and her liking each other. You know in what way. Anyway, I was wondering if…"

"If your old man could give you advice for the time you spend around her? Of course I can. I think I know what your problem is. Do you know about the Soultouch?"

"Yes Dad. The Soultouch is something in all echidnas that means that we can know who our soulmate is from looking at them. Why ask about that, when I'm asking about something completely different?"

"I don't think it's as different as you do. I think that now you're this age, the Soultouch has activated and you're feeling its affect when you go near her. To stop it, I don't know if there is a way to do that except for acting on those feelings. That's how it was when your mother and I first laid eyes on each other. Remember, she doesn't have the Soultouch, so she may reject you. The thing to remember is that

the Soultouch often indicates a life-long partnership," Will gave a half-smile there.

"So your telling me that the Soultouch knows more about my future than I do?" Knuckles laughed. "You could put it like that. Remember, your birthday is coming up soon. How about you invite Kyle and Maddy over for a sleepover here. Your sister has already indicated that she'd rather be elsewhere on your birthday anyway. Lets give her a chance to do that and just have you celebrate your birthday with your friends." Will gave his dad a playful hug. "I'll think about it. I have to get around to Shadow's. I have to baby-sit their kids today." Knuckles clapped his son on the back. "You better get going then. Take your guitar with you." Will spent a good five minutes rounding up the stuff he needed before setting off. It was a good twenty minutes to Shadow's house by foot, and Will had no intentions on hurrying. Instead, he busied himself with planning his fourteenth birthday party, and thoughts of Maddy. Due to this thinking, the trip went nearly twice as fast as he thought. When he arrived, Rouge was lying out the back getting some sun.

"Hi Will. Shadow and Cade are out the front, Maria and Bianca are in their bedroom and Shade's playing with the computer. If you need anything, just tell me,"

"I will, Rouge." Will replied, before walking around to the front of the house where Shadow was lazing, with Cade running in circles around him.

"Hey, Shadow. How are you today?"

"Fine," he grunted "The little guy wouldn't sleep last night, so I'm tired from watching him. I'm gonna take a little snooze right here, if that's ok with you,"

"Sure Shadow, I don't have a problem with you taking a nap here. I'll move Cade for you," Will replied, bending over to pick up the wriggling baby hedgehog. As he turned around, he saw an orange hedgehog with a bright yellow stripe down it's back walk up.

"Hello? Is this Shadow the Hedgehog's house?" it asked.

"Yes, it is. Who are you?" Shadow asked, sitting up.

"Shadow, my name is Dawn. I am your sister," the hedgehog responded. Shadow fell over in shock.

"I am the only one. I am the only one of Gerard's creations left, aren't I?"

"No Shadow. I am your sister. Let me in, I can prove it." Shadow opened the gate, letting Dawn the hedgehog in.

"Will, you can go home now, if you want. Shade can stay with me and Rouge while we find out about my 'sister'."

"Sorry Shadow, but I want to hear this." Will replied.

"Suit yourself. Come on in, Dawn." Shadow made a sweeping motion with his hand, allowing both Dawn and Will to walk inside his house. Rouge came inside and scooped up the little black and orange bundle and parked him on her lap.

"Kids, come in to the lounge room, please," She called out, and Maria, Bianca and Shade came in and introduced themselves to Dawn.

"Ok, Dawn. Tell us. Who are you, and are you really my sister?" Shadow asked. Dawn smiled. "I'll need a Chaos Emerald, for it is easier to show you my story rather than tell it," she replied. Shadow got up and threw her a Chaos Emerald. With the Emerald in hand, Dawn made a sweeping gesture and the entire room disappeared with all the people in there finding themselves floating in the air above a lab in the Ark.

"I was originally Maria Robotnik, or so I'm told. Soon after I was shot and dying, Gerard Robotnik transferred my consciousness into a hedgehog body and sealed the transference with Black Doom's blood." As Shadow, Rouge and Will listened to Dawn; they could also watch what she said below them. Shadow watched in growing horror as he watched GUN soldiers shoot Maria, leaving her for dead as they rounded up the scientists.

"He then sealed me in a stasis container to await the day someone would wake me. Around a month ago, that happened." Will noticed that a fiery echidna look-alike open up her stasis container and help her out. The echidna then used Chaos Control, transporting himself and Dawn away. Dawn swung her hand again, showing where they arrived: the Extinct Volcano in the Sky Fire Zone.

"The echidna was just a form of the guy who found me, the Chosen One of Fire. He's really a phoenix. He lives in the volcano, guarding the Flare Crystals. He taught me how to fight, and developed my signature move, Solar Sun Beams. He showed me Gerard's diary, which told me my story. All I know is that I am Shadow's sister." Shadow paled, then fainted.

"So, what you're saying is that you are Shadow's sister. How is that possible?" Rouge asked.

"Well, we were both created with Black Doom's blood, and we were both created by Gerard. We have similar powers and we both are hedgehogs. Same creator, same species, same power family. We are siblings." Rouge got up, and wrapped Dawn in a massive hug. "Welcome to the family," she said. Bianca, Maria and Shade came over, and the kids hugged their aunt. Dawn started to cry.

"It's great to have a family," she replied. Will rolled his eyes.

"Later Rouge. I better head home. I have to collect some stuff for my Dad on the way,"

"Bye Will. Careful on your way home," Rouge cautioned.

"I will be." He replied, picking up his guitar. ''Man, she's being motherly!'' He thought. He walked out of the house, heading home. As he walked down the street, there was a sign that intrigued him: the Big Family Reunion. He walked down the track towards the reunion, expecting hedgehogs or echidnas or even foxes or rabbits. What he saw astonished him: there were cats identical to Big. There was a giant pink cat in an apron, a slightly thinner dark blue cat in a tuxedo everywhere he looked, different coloured Big-look-alikes and frogs. Hundreds of thousands of frogs. He spun around and walked back out to the street. Sonic, Amy and Maddy were going the other way, Sonia, Lara-Su and Manic having gone to some big music festival. Will was too young to go, so he hadn't.

"Sonic! Big's holding a family reunion!" Sonic's jaw dropped. Maddy looked surprised. Amy reached into her handbag and pulled out her phone.

"Hello? Am I speaking to Rouge? Call around. Tell people that Big's family's in town!"

Sonic then turned and bolted down the road towards the reception center the reunion was being held at. Will heard a sudden BOOM and realized that was Sonic breaking the sound barrier. Maddy frowned. Her dad never ran that fast unless there was a good reason. Will smiled. "Come on Maddy, it's hilarious!"

She shrugged. "Fine then, I'll have a look," Amy smiled, then walked down the street with the two of them. As they arrived at the reception center, Big walked out with arms spread.

"Amy! Big so happy to see you! Come! Big show you Big's family!"

"Ok then," Amy replied, a massive smile on her face. Will looked at Maddy and shook his head. She gave a wry grin and they walked in together. Sonic was already in there, talking to a short blue cat with a purple frog on his head. Big introduced them to: Mama Big, the cat in the apron, Papa Big, the cat stuck in the rocking chair, Bigger Big, Big's older brother who was actually bigger than Big, and more. Knuckles, Shadow, Julie-Su, Rouge, Shade, Maria, Bianca, Cade, Dawn and a LOT of other people arrived. They looked in shock, then came in and started talking to Big's relatives. Suddenly, Knuckles shouted "Eggman!". Indeed, there was Doctor Eggman.

"What, can't a guy hang around with people his own weight?"

"Sorry, Eggman, but there are no people THAT heavy." Sonic said. Eggman walked over to Mama Big.

"Can I have more of the steak, Mama Big? It really is delicious,"

"Of course, my little Egg Boy. Eat as much as you want," Mama Big said. Everyone stayed and ate themselves sick. Cade, even though he was only two, ate a ton of food. Soon enough, it was time to leave.

"Goodbye Big. Thanks for letting us stay," Amy said

"Yeah, you fat freak," Sonic added under his breath. Knuckles and Shadow sniggered. Amy rolled her eyes in disgust at their bad manners.

"Big happy you came. Big will see you around. Come on, Froggy," he said. Froggy could be seen squashed up in the folds of Big's fat. Will gave Maddy a peck on the cheek, then walked off with his parents.

"I'll call you!" he called out to her.

"No, I'll call you!" came the reply. Knuckles smiled. Julie-Su looked confused.

"What was all that about?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing too big, Mum." Will replied, grinning.

Nearby, a figure in black robes was watching.

"This kid... Heh... He's not even grown up yet and I'm excited about fighting him!"

Out of his robes he pulled one of the Chaos Emeralds and teleported away.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: Thief on a Birthday Night**

On Will's birthday, they threw a party. Maddy and her parents were first to arrive, giving Will a new guitar strap and some picks, with Maddy going out of her way to find a black denim jacket in the right size. Shadow and Rouge gave him a cool book of rock guitar music, and Tails, Cream and Kyle shocked everyone literally with the gift of Voltage Crystals, crystals imbued with electrical energy. His parents gave him a new amp, and then Antoine, Knuckles and Espio walked into another room for a second, before walking back in with a wrapped thing. Will just used one of his knuckle blades to cut the top of the gift open. Staring back at him was the top of a sword hilt. As he pulled it out, he saw it had a Chaos Emerald shard embedded in the hilt. Will looked at his dad, to shocked to even speak.

"I trust you, son. Antoine and Espio decided that you need your own sword, but they couldn't decide between a katana and a saber. Tails and I came up with the answer: a ''guy'viroth'' broadsword," Knuckles started

"Sure, it's longer and heavier than the saber and rapier you use now, but it you should be able to learn how to use it and a second sword together like you did with the saber-rapier combo, or use it in a 2-handed grip, as Antoine taught you at the start," Tails added.

"Oui, it would not be difficult to learn now you have mastered the saber and rapier combo. I will work out a training routine for you," Antonie added,

"The ''guy'viroth'' blade is a sword of Asiatic design, which was developed into the European broadsword then into the sword you most commonly wield: the saber," Espio finished.

"Thanks guys, it's great! What's with the crystal in the hilt though?" Will asked

"It's a Chaos Emerald Shard. It's there to let you focus your power through it, increasing the usefulness of the blade. I think you're old enough to have it now," Knuckles replied.

"Thanks Dad, I promise I will train with it," Will said, putting down his sword before walking down to his room, grabbing his electric guitar and amp and setting up to play. Manic hooked up his bass and Sonia, her keyboard. Sonic pulled out his electric too and the group jammed with everyone parting. Bianca, Maria and Cookies danced like only five-year-olds could, while Shade and Kyle tried to breakdance, with mixed success. The party went on until late, when Shadow and Rouge took their clan home because Shadow and Rouge had to put Cade in bed and let Dawn go home after babysitting Cade for the night, while Cream and Tails had to take Cookies home with them and collect their latest kids, Nathan and Vivienne, from Vanilla's house. Sonic and Amy helped pack up the instruments and they left with Sonia and Manic. Knuckles, Julie-Su and Lara-Su went off to bed while Will, Maddy and Kyle set up sleeping bags and mattresses in the lounge and went to sleep. The house was quiet except for the hum of the lasers protecting the Master Emerald. However, a black-robed figure walked down to the point of the corridor with the lasers and passed all of them, even with the heavy spear slung on his back. He walked into the Master Emerald room and started moving towards the giant emerald when he stood on a balloon that had blown in during the party, which burst. Will woke when he heard the popping balloon. Grabbing his sword as a 'just in case' thing, he turned off the lasers and walked down the corridor. As he turned to enter the Master Emerald room, he saw the black-robed figure reach towards the emerald. Quickly, he drew his ''guy'viroth'' blade and dived at the intruder, just missing him with his sword cutting through the intruder's hood.

"You missed me, kid. What are you going to do now?" he taunted

"Who said I missed?" Will replied, drawing the saber he had grabbed in his other hand. He saw what his dad meant by the weighting issue. The broadsword was heavier than he was used to, and the weight offset his balance. He recovered and stood at the ready as his foe pulled back his damaged hood, revealing his green dreadlocks and his deep black eyes.

"I am Jacob, soldier in the Dark Legion and soon to be Chaos empowered being. I will be your doom!" the echidna said, unslinging the spear from his back. Will grimaced and prepared to fight. Jacob charged in, making a stabbing movement with his spear. Will dodged and threw his saber straight at Jacob, cutting his dreadlock and drawing blood. Jacob cursed, then smiled and stabbed at Will again. Will blocked with his

''guy'viroth'' blade and then blinked. The two of them were suddenly in his bedroom! He then noticed the small jewel in the shaft of the spear.

"Chaos Emerald Shards…' he murmured.

"Speak up, boy, I can barely hear you," Jacob taunted again. Will frowned and raced in, bring his sword down on Jacob's spear, Chaos Controlling them into Vector's dining room. Vector wasn't home as he was off on some mission with Razz, Charmy and Mighty. Jacob swung his spear, which Will blocked and they ended up on the banks of a nearby river. Will slashed his blade at Jacob, who managed to get the shaft of the spear in the way. He blinked. He was in a room, with a young female hedgehog in skimpy nightclothes and a male fox cub asleep on the floor. ''If I get a picture of her, the boys back at base will love it!'' he thought, reaching into the small bag that had been hidden by his robes and opening it, pulling out a small digital camera. He reached down and grabbed the top of her sleeping bag. The girl moved about, thinking it was her echidna friend there to wake her. As he pulled down the sleeping bag though, he brushed against her skin. Instantly, Maddy woke up and barely stopped herself from screaming. Will instantly flew in, knocking Jacob off Maddy, who he helped up and wrapped his arms around.

"Are you ok Maddy?" he asked.

"Just tired. Let's get this guy out of here!" she said cockily, summoning her Piko Piko Hammer.

"Let's do this!" Will taunted, swinging his sword around haphazardly.

"Hmph. You two couldn't beat me, for I am undefeatable!" Jacob just tightened his grip on his spear and smiled darkly.

"So I couldn't do…this?" Maddy said, swinging her mallet and hitting Jacob in the head, then reversing her swing and smashing the Chaos Emerald Shard in the shaft. It was at that point that Julie-Su came in, having heard something happening. Her jaw dropped and she raced out towards her room to wake Knuckles. Meanwhile, Will's sword dropped on a smooth arc and passed straight through the shaft of Jacob's spear. Jacob looked at the two stubs of spear he had left and went pale as Maddy's mallet made a solid impact on his chest, sending him flying backwards and landing on Kyle. He got up and looked like he was going to attack them again when he spun towards the door, kicking Kyle in the face on the way, waking him.

"Let's get him!" Will cried and the two of them left the startled Kyle on his own. Maddy flew in first and saw Jacob laying his palm on the Master Emerald and it start glowing. She dived at him, only to have him punch her with the force of Big doing a belly flop off a diving board: in other words: a lot. She was sent straight back towards the door, where Will caught her, stroking her hair gently.

"Don't worry, I have you. I won't let him hurt you again, I promise," Will whispered to her softly as he watched Jacob absorb a lot of power from the Master Emerald straight into his body.

"Smart move, kid. You wouldn't stand a chance against me, but now I have what I came for," Jacob crowed, taking his palm off the emerald and raising it into the air.

"CHAOS CONTROL!" he shouted, and instantly disappeared. Kyle walked in at that very point, rubbing his face where Jacob had kicked him.

"Man, whoever that guy was, he certainly had a strong kick," he said dryly. He saw Will gazing at the massive emerald. "Will, this won't help anything. Just tell your dad, and he'll tell us what to do," Kyle advised.

"He hurt her, Kyle. He punched her so hard; it was almost like Big had smashed his stomach into her face. I want to absorb some of that power to help her," At that very moment, Maddy came round. Her eyes were watery and she was pale, however she stood up and walked over to the Master Emerald. Will walked over to the other side, hands at the ready. The two of them looked expectantly at Kyle.

"Oh, very well. I'll do it if you two are…" He muttered, both his tails spinning like a whirlwind as he flew over to the top of the massive emerald. As one, they all placed a hand against the emerald. Will blinked. One second, Maddy had been blue and Kyle, the peachy cream colour he normally was. Now, Maddy had gone aqua blue, her eyes bright yellow and Kyle, white gold with deep red eyes.

"Whoa! You two have changed!" he gasped.

"So have you!" came the reply from Maddy, and the three of them walked over to a mirror there in the Master Emerald room, left there by Lara-Su.

"Cool! I love this blue!" Maddy cooed.

"This colour reminds me of Shadow's super form," Kyle muttered. Will didn't say anything as he checked out the golden fur that had coated his body, with the streaks in his dreadlocks disappearing into them. His eyes had changed too, becoming pure green. ''Whoa! We've gone…Chaos!'' he thought.

"What will our parents say?" Maddy asked. Kyle shrugged.

"I'm a kid genius, not a mind reader!"

"I don't they'll say anything," Will said. The others gave him a strange look.

"What do you mean, not say anything? We've changed colours!" Maddy shrieked at him.

"Just close your eyes and focus on how you normally appear. Your normal colour, eye colour, everything. Like this," was Will's response as he closed his eyes, focusing on himself as he looked normally. He felt weird as the Chaos Energy merged with his own natural Chaos Energy, as he 'powered down'. The other two did the same thing and they were all standing around as they were before bed.

"Nice nightie, Maddy. Some people would say that you're trying to impress someone. And Will, put some pants on," Kyle said, half jokingly. Maddy blushed and Will glared at Kyle angrily.

"You don't wear pants either!"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry," The three of them went back to bed, with Will giving Maddy a goodnight kiss. The three of them woke up to the smell of barbecued sausages.

"YUM!" Kyle shouted, running in and helping himself to a plate full of sausages, bacon, eggs and toast. Will and Maddy took a little while longer, but they soon joined Kyle who was wolfing down his second plateful of Knuckles and Julie-Su's massive breakfast feast.

"So, what did you guys get up to last night?" Knuckles asked. Will and Maddy looked at each other then back at him.

"Nothing really major, Dad," Will started saying. Knuckles smiled.

"I checked the security camera footage up to the point you and the other guy Chaos Controlled. Then it all shorted out from the energy. I'm going to have to get Tails to fix it for me,"

"Mmph," came from Kyle's direction.

"Pardon, Kyle?"

"I said, I could fix them,"

"Thanks, mate," Knuckles looked back towards Will. "You did a very important thing last night, and I know your mother saw you two fighting the guy, and that was very brave. Both of you, I am proud of you,"

"Even me?" came Shadow's voice as he, Sonic and Amy walked in.

"We smelled some of your cooking and decided to get Shadow to eat some, because he can't get food poisoning." Sonic joked.

"Ha, ha, ha. You're just jealous that I own a barbecue and you don't. Besides, you can't cook,"

"He has a point there, Sonic," Amy said.

"I guess. We'll have some," Everyone settled down and ate, while Kyle got up and pulled out his tech gear and got to work on the security camera systems. Tails, Cream, Cookies, Nathan and Vivienne came round fifteen minutes later, with Cream and the younger kids staying and eating while Tails raced home to get some gear to help his son. Will looked at Maddy, who winked at him. They weren't going to tell anyone what really happened, at least not right now.

A distance away, the cloaked figure was watching still.

"Smart kid... If anything, he'll get stronger and smarter..." He laughed. "I have GOT to fight this kid! But I'll have to test him first... Ah yes... That other kid in his school should make an interesting challenge..."

With that, he pulled out a Chaos Emerald and disappeared without a sound.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: Schoolyard Chaos**

It was another two years after then that things started getting really bad. Will, now 16, had turned down a place in Manic's band to keep his playing solo. Maddy was the same age, and always turned down the boys who asked her out to stay with Will. Kyle was now 14 and had helped his dad get his head around a piece of mechanics found near a place where the dimensional barriers were weakened, it's complexity confusing Tails. However, they hadn't done all this without making enemies: there was Titania the Hedgehog, who believed that Will should be hers to do whatever she wanted. She hated Maddy with a passion, believing that if Maddy died, she could take her place in Will's heart. There was Andrew the Penguin who believed that Kyle, the little nerd, should be beaten until he bled and cried for mercy. He was jealous of Kyle because Kyle's robots always worked while his own fell to bits. Then there was Leon the Lion. Leon HATED Will. He couldn't stand him. Leon led the largest gang in the school, often beating Will up, or at least trying to. He believed that if the son of Knuckles fell and was proven to be a weakling, then he would be regarded as the best in the school. This opinion angered Stave the Hedgehog, who respected Will but couldn't stop Leon from hurting him. One night, Leon was outside watching the nightclubs and the solid inflow and outflow of teenaged boys and girls when a green echidna Chaos Controlled in right next to him.

"I know you hate Will the Echidna," he said.

"Yeah, what's it to you?" Leon replied.

"I hate him too. I have some things here that could allow you to completely destroy him down to the last of his body," the echidna continued, handing Leon a bag. "I will also pay you $3000 to kill him, half of it up front," Leo accepted the wad of money being offered to him.

"So, all I have to do is kill that pest Will, right?"

"Right. I wish you luck, Leon," the echidna finished, then Chaos Controlled away. Leo grinned and started plotting. The very next day, Kyle was

nervous.

"What bit you, Kyle?' Will asked.

"Andrew threatened to beat me then skin me today. Besides, I feel queasy,"

"I don't feel to good either. Could it be yesterday's lunch?" Maddy shook her head.

"I do to, and I didn't eat school food. Besides, you know what school food does but you ate some anyway,"

"I guess Maddy, but lemme just say I got a bad feeling about this," Kyle whimpered. The three friends walked into the school.

"Meet you guys again at recess?" Will asked, heading off to his Chaos Studies class.

"Anytime, anywhere, Will," Maddy said, grinning as she walked down towards her math class.

"I'll be there, if I've still got my skin," Kyle muttered, walking to his science class. As Will walked down into his class, he noticed people were looking at him with cruel grins. He entered class and listened to tales of Chaos Blasts in the form of beams and legendary Chaos Warriors like BloodSonic, GigaShadow, GigaShadella and Vicious the Dark. ''Man, I wish I was that strong!'' he thought. At the start of recess, he walked out to the oval and his jaw dropped. Maddy was on the ground, with Leon standing over her.

"Hello Will. Time to break," he yelled, smashing his foot straight into Maddy's back. She screamed in pain. Titania smiled evilly. Leon kicked again, sending her flying. Will couldn't stand seeing Maddy get hurt. He hoped he had this trick all figured out.

"CHAOS…FLARE!" He screamed, the flaming Chaos Spear smashing into Leon's leg, jarring it.

"Well, well, well. Looks like the son of Knuckles inherited some power from his dad. Let's prove just how futile that is," Leon crowed, reaching into the bag at his feet. Will realized what was in the bag just before Leon pulled out seven Chaos Emeralds.

"No way!" "Impossible!" "He couldn't have!" "Whoa!" "Are those…?" "AAAHHH!" and a lot more rose from the astonished crowd.

Sonic, Knuckles, Shadow and Tails were walking down towards the river, all holding fishing rods. All of them were listening to Shadow rant and rave about a break in at his house two nights before.

"I swear, Rouge, Dawn and I took the kids out for dinner and when we got back someone had broken in and stolen seven Chaos Emeralds from my house. I'm worried that they'll come back and try to steal more of them,"

"Shadow, are you stupid? Keeping a full set of Chaos Emeralds in your house is just daring someone to break in and steal them," Knuckles said, before frowning, "Just how did you have seven Chaos Emeralds in your house anyway?"

"I gathered them from a dead world. Besides, how is that daring thieves any more than having the Master Emerald in your house?"

"I have to guard it! You don't have to guard Chaos Emeralds!" Knuckles shouted, then both he and Shadow collapsed with their heads in their hands.

"Are you guys ok?" Sonic asked,

"Massive…Chaos…Energy…burst…" Shadow managed to say.

"Head…hurts…" Knuckles muttered. Tails frowned and activated his scouter.

"Sonic! There are seven Chaos Emeralds in the high school with someone using them! There are also three beings with supercharged Chaos Energy readings there too, but they aren't as big a problem," Tails yelled. Sonic went pale as he realized his daughter was at school. Knuckles did the same when he remembered Will. Tails looked at Shadow, who pulled himself to his feet shakily.

"What are we waiting for? Your kids and my Emeralds are in trouble!" he said, grabbing Knuckles by the wrist and racing off with Sonic and Tails in hot pursuit.

Will watched as Leon finished with the emeralds, letting them fall as he stretched out and roared.

"I AM SUPER LEON! I AM YOUR DOOM, WILL. YOU HAVE NO CHANCE!" he roared at Will, before diving straight down and smashing Will into the ground. He pulled up then dived again, forcing his fist into Will's face.

"Leon!" Stave shouted suddenly, "Don't do this! I have respected you, even though you bullied someone else I respected, and I have stood by as you very nearly sent him to hospital five times. But no longer. You have destroyed the last shred of respect I had for you by beating up Maddy and now going Super to hurt Will. I won't stay here idly and watch you ruin his life. Stop now, or you will have to face me and many more!"

"Stave. I was always suspicious of you, and now I see my suspicions were right. Consider yourself banished from our gang and get out of my sight before I finish you, right here and now," Leon retorted with a smirk. This, however, had taken his attention away from Will, who had closed his eyes and was focusing on the Chaos Energy he had absorbed. ''Come on, come on, come on! I need this power!'' he thought, then felt a jolt. He watched in amazement as his gloves turned deep red and his arms yellow. Will grinned. If Leon wanted to fight him, he was going to have his work cut out for him very quickly.

Shadow and Knuckles reached the edge of the school quickly, looking up as they felt the start of another Chaos Energy burst. Sonic and Tails arrived seconds later, with Tails looking up at the guy with his scouter's binocular function. "Sonic, Knuckles, listen! There is someone in his or her super form floating there. They're floating over Maddy, and Will appears to have been knocked into a hole, but he's powering up. It's amazing!" Sonic looked worried, while Knuckles looked furious.

"Knuckles, control yourself. You aren't helping Will by doing this, but you aren't helping yourself either. Just calm down, and if anything really bad happens, then we all jump in, got it?" Shadow said. Knuckles took a couple of deep breaths.

"Understood, Shadow."

Leon raised his left hand, pointing it to the side of his body. Around his hand formed a giant wheel-like shape of pure Chaos Energy.

"Let's see you live through this. CHAOS DISK!" he shouted. The disk headed down towards Will, then stopped. In its way was a beam of fire.

"Hmph. You really think that your Chaos Disk would stop me?" Will asked, jumping so that he was floating on the same level as Leon. His body had turned yellow, with his gloves deep red and the streaks in his hair having turned orange.

"That's right, Leon. You've lost your advantage. I've gone Blazing, so I am equal to your power, for now."

"How! You didn't have any Chaos Emeralds!" Leon blustered.

"I don't need any. SOLAR…FLARE!" Will yelled, launching a supercharged Chaos Flare straight into Leon's chest, knocking him off balance before rushing in, striking Leon six times before pulling back.

"So, Blazing Will, you want to play like that, huh? Well, let's go!" Leon roared again.

"Hmph. Leon, if you play with fire…YOUR GONNA GET BURNED!" Will shouted in reply, coating his fists in fire then charging in to meet Leon. The two of them locked each other in a massive battle to the death, when Leon suddenly moved, forcing Will to miss. Leon then placed both his feet into Will's stomach, kicking out and knocking Will into the ground.

"Will needs help!" Kyle shouted.

"We can't, Kyle. We wouldn't last five minutes. Let Will hold him off for now," Maddy replied.

"My son needs help!" Knuckles shouted.

"Knuckles, restrain yourself, or we'll be forced to restrain you," Shadow said, looking at Sonic, who had a tear in his eye, and Tails, who was watching the fight through his scouter.

"Shadow, it's my son. He needs help,"

"Hey, look. Is that who I think that is?" Sonic said, pointing to a figure dressed in black.

"It couldn't be, could it?" Shadow breathed.

Will felt Leon's fist bury itself into his stomach once more, and his vision started to drift. He could have sworn he saw a red hedgehog dressed in black sitting on the roof of the gym, but he wasn't sure. He closed his eyes and focused on the rest of his Chaos Energy, reaching out to Maddy and Kyle as well.

"Use your powers, my friends. Power up like we did after fighting Jacob. Let the power envelop you," he sent telepathically, before allowing all the Chaos Energy to take control. His body went from yellow to gold, with the orange spines turning the same colour. His gloves turned white again, and his eyes turned green.

"Another transformation? Impossible!" Leon whimpered.

"Are you ready for this, Leon? I AM CHAOS WILL!" Will shouted, the power increasing his voice. Maddy looked up, her body now aqua and her eyes, bright yellow, as she walked over and grabbed Will's hand.

"I AM CHAOS MADDY!" she screamed to everyone. Kyle flew over, with his white-gold fur and red eyes, sticking a hand on each of the others shoulders.

"I AM CHAOS KYLE!" he yelled. At the same time, their voices became one.

"Our homes will not be save with you around. We won't be back for a while. CHAOS CONTROL!" they said, then disappeared.

Sonic collapsed. Tails took his scouter off and stuck his hand on his best friend's shoulder, trying to comfort him from his grief and let his own out. Shadow jumped the fence and walked over to his Chaos Emeralds, sadness evident on his normally emotionless face. Knuckles leapt clean over the fence, glided over Shadow and tackled Leon to the ground, punching him repeatedly.

"You bastard! You made my son leave, you stole those Chaos Emeralds, you monster," he cried, tears coming from his eyes as he struck repeatedly. Suddenly, he was tackled off Leon and knocked to the ground by a red hedgehog with black eyes.

"Damn you, Blood. Why couldn't you let me deal with the kid?"

"It isn't the time, Knuckles. I watched your son over the last couple of years, watching and waiting for him to be ready to fight. I thought the final fight between him and the bully was going to be the deciding factor. I didn't expect Chaos Emeralds and Chaos Powers to enter the fray. Look, I'll tell you what I know…"


End file.
